1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to infant nursing bottles, and particularly to an infant nursing bottle configured to facilitate grasping of the bottle by an infant during self-feeding and which also facilitates washing the interior of the bottle upon completion of feeding.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The literature is replete with infant nursing bottles of different sizes and configurations. Some of these are configured to facilitate washing, with little or no consideration given to the need for the infant to hold the bottle during feeding. Others are configured to facilitate manufacture, with little or no consideration given to either the need to wash the bottle, or the need for the infant to hold the bottle during feeding. Still others appear to be configured to facilitate holding of the bottle by an infant, but neglect the need to wash the interior of the bottle after a feeding. The prior art patents reviewed include the following:
______________________________________ 47,650 210,501 221,518 2,307,390 71,125 210,513 221,519 2,586,199 86,570 214,871 224,200 2,722,086 92,518 216,248 239,697 2,978,131 124,394 221,513 240,968 3,171,559 183,940 221,514 273,276 3,195,752 187,360 221,515 276,790 3,214,052 192,970 221,516 276,791 3,232,495 199,699 221,517 283,396 ______________________________________
Some of the patents listed above do not relate to infant nursing bottles per se, but are nevertheless included in the interest of completeness of the disclosure of prior art as it is presently known by me. Prior art patents reviewed that appear to have the greatest pertinency to infant nursing bottles include the following:
______________________________________ 18,420 1,637,719 2,986,296 4,557,392 212,921 1,668,227 3,075,666 4,558,792 229,723 1,947,753 3,804,952 4,557,392 284,220 2,789,002 3,105,324 4,570,808 595,414 2,793,778 3,145,867 4,867,325 1,037,309 2,831,596 3,161,311 1,375,917 2,843,281 3,746,198 1,617,213 2,859,891 ______________________________________
By observation of infants while being fed with the aid of a nursing bottle, it has been noted that it is very common for even tiny infants to attempt to grasp the nursing bottle. By the time infants are about four months old, most are able to independently hold the bottle during the feeding procedure. Some infants achieve this level of dexterity at an even younger age. Accordingly, one of the important objects of the present invention is the provision of an infant nursing bottle configured to facilitate grasping and properly positioning of the bottle by very young infants during feeding.
Infant nursing bottles in years past were fabricated from glass. While glass infant nursing bottles are still available, it appears that by far the majority of infant nursing bottles are now fabricated from appropriate synthetic resinous materials. Accordingly, another object of the invention is the provision of an infant nursing bottle configured to facilitate grasping of the bottle by the infant, and fabricated from a suitable synthetic resinous material.
Regarding washing of the interior of infant nursing bottles, some of the bottles are configured in such a manner that washing or sterilizing the interior of the bottle is most difficult. It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide an infant nursing bottle fabricated from synthetic resinous material in a manner and with a configuration that facilitates cleansing of the interior of the bottle.
As infants become more adept at holding the nursing bottle during feeding, they frequently will hold the bottle with two hands, one on either side of the bottle, but sometimes they will hold the bottle with only one hand. It is therefore a still further object of the invention to provide an infant nursing bottle configured to enable an infant to utilize either both or only a single hand in holding the bottle during feeding.
From inspection of the prior art patents listed above relating to infant nursing bottles, it is surprising to note that consideration has not been given to decorative aspects of infant nursing bottles. Accordingly, a still further object of the invention is the provision of an infant nursing bottle that incorporates decorative aspects that are attractive to the infant.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing will be apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated and described, since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.